Cervum et Dammas
by fudgerice
Summary: A story of Lily and James's last year at Hogwarts and how they came to fall in love. Rated M mainly for language. Disclaimer: All rights go to JK Rowling.
1. Chapter 1

**Notes:** Just thought I'd say that this is the first fanfic I've ever done. I've attempted others but this is going to be the first one I'm going to really try to finish and actually publish. I'm so sorry if I take a while to update sometimes, but I'm not the quickest of writers, so you'll just have to bare with me. I also thought I'd slip in the fact that I don't actually know where this story is going yet, so until I've completely planned out the plot, updates are going to be a lot slower. Like I said, I'm really sorry, but any reviews would be greatly appreciated.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. All rights go to JK Rowling.

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Her foot crossed over the threshold of the train as the breeze of the Scottish highlands hit the skin of her cheeks, the contrast of the heat from Surrey and the bitter cold of the north stung her face, highlighting the paleness of her complexion, making the freckles that were speckled across the bridge of her snub nose more defined and blowing her long red locks over her shoulder. She shivered slightly as the cold air touched her, and pulled her scarf, knitted with the gold and  
deep red of Gryffindor, tighter around her neck as she stepped completely off the train in the vast bustle of the other students.

Lily Evans was arriving at Hogsmeade station on the 1st of September for the last time, as she was entering her 7th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, along with the badge of shining silver that was pinned to her chest baring the words 'Head Girl'. She moved from the exit of the compartment, pulling her trunk along with her, followed my her two best friends she'd had for the past six years.

"Oh thank God, we're finally here. I thought I was going to die of starvation if we'd had to stay on that train any longer." Marlene said, as her and Mary arrived on either side of Lily and began walking towards the horseless carriages that would take them up to the school.

"Oh, don't be so dramatic, Mar. You had both mine and Lily's left over pumpkin pasties not two hours ago." Mary exclaimed, tucking some of her dishwasher blonde, shoulder-length hair behind her ear. "How you stay so healthy with the amount you eat is a mystery to me."

A smug smile crept over Marlene's face as she said, "It's the quidditch. There's more to life than books and studying you know, Mary."

"You're only saying that because you have the attention span of a peanut." Mary muttered under her breath. Lily let out a suppressed laugh as Marlene lent past her and smacked Mary in the top of the arm, saying something about 'the cheek of people these days'.

The three girls waited five minutes for an empty carriage, loaded their trunks into the back then got inside, but before Marlene had a chance to completely close the door, a foot jammed in the bottom and a high-pitched squeal sounded from just outside the carriage. Marlene opened the door and, swearing rather loudly outside, was Sirius Black.

"Fucking hell, McKinnon, could you have slammed the door any bloody harder? Feel like my bastard foot's about to fall off!"

"Oh Merlin. What do you want, Sirius?" Marlene asked, mischief hidden in the small grin that'd settled on her face.

"Well, I was going to ask if I could join you lovely ladies up to the castle, but I don't know whether it's worth losing limbs for, if I'm honest." Sirius caught eyes with Marlene and smirked at her before looking into the carriage. "Mary," he nodded, earning a smile in return. "Evans."

"Black." Lily replied plainly. The relationship between Lily Evans and Sirius Black over their previous six years at Hogwarts had been significantly less than pleasant. Lily was not one for trouble-making, especially during the course of a lesson. She thought it silly and immature and obviously inappropriate, but Sirius' view on the matter were polar opposite. Him, along side the rest of the Marauders - so named apparently by Gryffindor Head of House, Professor McGonagall, because of the excessive mischief they caused - were so prone to disrupting lessons with their pranks that the chance of enduring a lesson with them without the occurrence of the four boys' misbehaviour was extremely rare, and often aroused suspicion. Sirius Black was one of the four; James Potter, Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin making up the number. Potter, in Lily's opinion, was on par with, or frequently worse than Black, Peter tagging along with the two of them, yet Remus was somewhat different. A Marauder, indeed, but more sensible, in a way. He cared about his studies, and was chosen as Gryffindor Prefect along with Lily in their 5th year. Although she didn't get on with the other three (to put it nicely), she was rather good friends with Remus, having spent a lot of time with him at Prefect meetings, enjoying his company more than she first expected.

For the first ten minutes of the journey, Marlene and Sirius engaged in conversation about Gryffindor quidditch team, - both whom were players - with Mary adding in comments now and then, while Lily stared out the window next to which she was sat, squinting through the mist in order to get her first view of Hogwarts. Her brain was so far away, it took three mentions of her name and a sharp prod from Mary, who was sat next to her, to gain her attention.

"You would've thought you'd be slightly more excited, Evans. I know it's been a long journey, but the joy of finding out you're Head Girl along side Prongs must have cheered you up."

Prongs. Pfft. What sort of name was that? The sarcastic tone in Sirius' voice encouraged Lily to bite back, but she tried to controlled herself.

"Oh I'm sure I'll cope fine with Potter, thank you." she replied rather tartly.

"You sure about that?"

The thought of spending the next year with James Potter as Head Boy had been on her mind ever since she arrived in the Prefect's compartment earlier that day and found him stood there, the stupid 'Head Boy' badge pinned to his chest. She was positively dreading it, but she wouldn't let Sirius know that.

"Yes." she said defiantly. She paused for a moment before speaking again. "Where's the rest of them, anyway? The Marauders, I mean. Finally realised you're an absolute prat and sacked you off?"

Sirius's eyes hardened as he looked directly at her. "What's it to you, Evans? I didn't realise our lives were of any interest to _you_. But for the record, no: they didn't 'sack me off'," his voice imitating that of Lily's. "I was just a bit too caught up with Tanya Olive to catch a ride up with them, if you know what I mean, so they went without me."

Lily looked at him with disgust before turning back to stare out the window. Sirius mumbled something that sounded a lot like 'prude bitch' (a comment which she complied herself to ignore) before reengaging in conversation with Marlene and Mary, who'd both sat through the previous, heated affair without saying a word. They knew all too well that their contributions would do nothing to help: outbursts between Lily and at least one of the Marauders happened far too frequently for the events to become anything more than a little awkward for the pair to endure.

By the time the carriage had reached the castle, Lily's anger and frustration at Sirius had built up so much that it was a relief for her to finally step out onto the path and watch him stalk off (after saying goodbye to only Marlene and Mary first, of course) to find his friends. They walked up through the large doors that led to the Entrance Hall but, before they could make their way through the doors into the Great Hall, their path was blocked by yet another person Lily really didn't want to see.

Severus Snape.

To compare the feelings Lily had towards the Marauders and those she had towards Severus would be cruel; the almost hatred she had for those stupid prats had always been there, but at one point, before he'd changed, Severus Snape had been Lily's best friend.

He lived at the end of her road as a child, and it was him who convinced her that the weird things she could do were magic. He was the first connection she'd had to the magical world and, ever since the age of 9, had been her best friend. He was subsequently one of the primary reason's Lily's sister, Petunia, hated her.

"How can you spend time with that _freak_?" she'd shout at Lily. "You're meant to be my best friend!"

But Severus had been there for her when Petunia hadn't. He didn't call her a freak for the strange things she could do and he'd comforted her when, in the end, Petunia turned against her. Severus was her best friend, and they vowed they would be in the same house once they arrived at Hogwarts. Although Lily had no idea the qualities relevant to each house, she would be in Slytherin, because that's what Sev wanted, and she wanted to be with him. He, as he had wished, was placed in Slytherin, but Lily had met Marlene McKinnon and Mary MacDonald on the Hogwarts Express and endured a lengthy conversation that changed her mind: she wanted to be in Gryffindor, it sounded _brilliant_ to her, and there she was placed, now natural rivals with her best friend.

It was hard enough for the two to stay friends as they spent much less time together being in different houses, but as they grew older, it got worse. Severus' friends consisted of the likes of Mulciber, Avery and Yaxley, all of whom put Severus down for being friends with Lily, but put Lily down even more for being what they called a 'Mudblood'. At first, this term meant nothing to Lily: she was a Muggle-Born and had no idea that to be so, to some, was the lowest form of witch; a term so insulting almost all wizards didn't even dare to speak. As years went on, Severus changed more, his friend's growing opinions on Lily and 'her kind' impacted on him, until he cracked and turned on her himself, something Lily would never be able to forgive him for.

Mudblood.

That's what he called her. Her best friend had turned into the person she'd feared he'd been for years, but now it was out in the open for everyone to see. He'd called her a Mudblood, shouted it at her in front of people she called friends, people who'd told her Severus was no good, but to whom she defended him still.

That incident occurred at the end of their 5th year, and, ever since, there had been countless occasions Severus would try and speak to Lily. He'd corner her, beg and plead with her (when his friends were not around, of course) for her to forgive him, listen to him, or even acknowledge him, but she refused. She turned him down every time, she wouldn't let herself be put in a position to be hurt in the same way again, and, for her, this time was no different.

"Severus, go away." Lily's voice was hard.

"Lily, _please_. I only want to speak with you for a moment. I just want to ask about your summer, I didn't see you at all! Please. Just speak to me for a minute."

"Severus, for goodness sake, leave me alone. I don't want to speak with you, not even for a moment. If you must know, my summer was fine, now go away."

He gave her an uncomfortable look, almost pitied. "Lily, please. We're friends-"

"No, we _were_ friends. You threw that away when you called me a Mudblood. Go find your own friends and leave me alone." Lily's voice cracked slightly as she spoke, and as soon as she finished, she moved quickly around him, Marlene and Mary in her stride, and entered the Great Hall with tears glistening in her eyes.

"Useless bloody pig." Marlene was muttering. "Can he not just leave you be for the first fucking day? Jesus Christ, he-"

"Please can we leave it?" Lily said in a small voice, turning to sit at Gryffindor table. "It's over now, and I really don't want to talk about him." She didn't make eye contact with either of them.

"Of course, sweetie. Let's not speak about it." Mary said, sitting down next to Lily, squeezing her arm slightly as she did so. "What do you reckon we'll have for dessert tonight? It's the Welcoming Dinner, so there better be chocolate cake. I've missed Hogwarts chocolate cake."

Lily looked up at her two best friends, both of whom were now excitedly talking about the forthcoming Welcoming Dinner - which turned out, as usual, to be perfectly brilliant -, and smiled.

It might have been a bad first day; what with finding out about Potter's Head Boy position, her quarreling with Black and Severus' pleading, but the rest of the year, she told herself, wouldn't be as bad. This was her last year at Hogwarts, and she was going to make sure it was one she would never forget.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes:** I'm really not too keen on this chapter, but I thought it was kind of necessary. I know it's not brilliant and the story isn't really going anywhere yet but please stick with me. I apologise for this not being up in time, but like I said: I'm not the fastest of writers. Thank you to anyone who's reading this as it really does mean a lot to me. Reviews are chocolate cupcakes.

**Disclaimer:** All rights go to JK Rowling.

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The early morning sunrise was creeping through the 7th Year Girls dormitory window. A small split between the bed hangings at the head of her bed meant that a slither of light was streaking across Lily Evans' forehead, who was sleeping soundly, a quiet snore escaping her person every so often. After the appeasing Welcoming Feast the night before and extensive journey they'd all endured, Lily, Marlene and Mary had all found their way to bed not ten minutes after retreating to their dormitory. The three of them were not the only occupants of the room though, Carrie Meadowes and Lindsay Marling also shared  
the dormitory with them, but they weren't ones to spend excessive amounts of time in there; the majority of their friends were in Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw.

Some time just after seven was when Lily woke. Her eyes fluttered open and the sight that met them rudely awakened her senses. The sunlight that was beaming through the deep red of her bed hangings was giving the appearance that her bed was on fire. She smiled slightly at her stupidity of thinking it real, swung herself round onto her stomach and reached over the end of her bed into her opened trunk. She took out the small bag that contained all her toiletries, a set of underwear and a towel before forcing herself to open her bed hangings to the blinding morning light and make her way into the bathroom. She  
unpacked her toiletries and undressed herself before turning on the shower and stepping under the pounding hot water.

After a considerably long shower, Lily dried and clothed herself in her underwear before leaving the bathroom to find only Mary awake.

"Someone was awake early this morning."

Lily smiled at Mary and replied. "I didn't feel like fighting over shower time on the first day, so I thought I'd get in first. You should jump in now, before those three wake up and World War III starts."

"Ahhh, good idea, Lily,"

"I'm full off them."

As Mary laughed quietly, Marlene stirred in her bed before speaking with a rather groggy voice. "Mary, if you're not out that shower in fifteen minutes, I'm coming in there with you. For goodness sake, hurry up, woman."

Lily laughed as Mary jumped up from her bed, towel and toiletries in hand, muttering something about a 'stupid prat'. Lily dried her hair using magic and changed into her school robes, attaching her Head Girl badge proudly to her chest. She didn't bother doing anything else with her hair, she never normally did anyway, but she did put a touch of foundation on and some eye make up. She took her school bag out of her trunk, knowing everything she may need was already in there having packed it at home, and slung it over her shoulder. By this time, Marlene, Lindsay and Carrie were scraping themselves out of bed while  
Mary was drying her hair. It was nearing eight now, and Lily thought it a good idea to go down to breakfast early in order to eat and pick up her timetable from Professor McGonagall.

"I'm going down now, don't be too late. And yes, Marlene," Lily looked at her friend, who was looking as if she was about to speak. "I'll make sure I save you some bacon. Don't be long." Marlene smiled in thanks at her and a call of "Bye, Lily!" was heard from the bathroom. Lily turned and opened the door, made her way down the staircase and through the common room. She walked through the castle for around five minutes before arriving at the Great Hall. She seated herself at the Gryffindor table and piled pancakes up on her own plate, taking another and placing various rashers of bacon, as well as some toast, on it for Marlene. Not twenty minutes later, she was accompanied by both Marlene and Mary, but Remus had also taken a seat with the three girls and was chatting idly while enjoying his own breakfast.

"Couldn't believe how tired I was last night! I mean, I know it was a long journey and everything, but we got to our dormitory and within literally ten minutes, all of us were flat out." Remus said, shoving a forkful of sausage in his mouth immediately after he'd finished speaking.

"We were exactly the same!" Mary exclaimed after finishing her bowl of fruit. "No way we could've stayed up though. As much as I'd have loved to sit with everyone down in the common room, we were all well and truly knackered."

"Well, us lads were thinking this morning,-"

"Thinking?" Lily said, the mocking shock in her voice making Remus smile. "You lot actually know how to use your brains? I mean, I'm not surprised at you, Remus, but the other three-"

"All right, all right. Shut it, Lily." Remus said, laughing. "Well, we were thinking that we should have a bit of a thing this Friday. Nothing special, just have us 7th years up in our dorm and have a few drinks, have a bit of a catch up. I haven't seen anything of you lot all summer, apart from the fleeting visit in The Leaky Cauldron when we were all at Diagon Alley. So what d'ya say? You will have to tell Carrie and Lindsay. Reckon Matthew won't mind either, he was saying it'll be nice to catch up with us all." Matthew Harley was the fifth occupant of the 7th Year Boys dormitory, and with brains like he had, he'd managed to avoid being part of the Marauders. Although still friends with the four boys, most of his close friends were part of Ravenclaw House.

"Yeah, go on then." Marlene said. "I'm sure a night with you lot won't be too torturous." She winked at Remus and then turned to Lily. "You'll be able to cope for one night without screaming at one of them though, won't you Lily?"

"Course I will!" Remus, Mary and Marlene looked at her, the same, doubtful expression painted on their faces. "Oh, come on, I'm not that bad! Anyway, there'll be enough of us there that, hopefully," Lily gave them a pointed look. "I won't be left on my own with Potter or Black anyway."

"Okay, okay. Point taken. Just as long as you don't get too drunk, Lils."

"Mary, like I said, I'll be fine. When have I ever gotten too drunk?"

"At the fifth year Christmas party."

"At the _sixth_ year Christmas party."

"Lindsay's 17th in April."

"Okay, okay! Thanks for that." Lily said, exasperated. "I won't get too drunk. But, for the record, I was only pleasantly tipsy at last year's Christmas party, so don't be over dramatic."

Marlene snorted. "Pleasantly tipsy? You were sick all over Carrie's new dress that night, and then all over my bed in the morning."

Mary let out a choked giggle as Remus held his hand up, also laughing. "That's enough, you two. Come on, the lads should be down in a minute, and I very much doubt you're going to enjoy their company this morning; they're in a particularly annoying mood." Marlene raised her eyebrow at him and he sighed. "Sirius got up extra early so he'd have enough time to hide all Peters underpants before he woke up. Peter was furious, and he refuses to believe that James didn't help him, no matter what Prongs or Padfoot say. That's why I came down here so early; I can't stand all the bickering and shouting, especially this early in the day. We'll go get our timetables from Professor McGonagall and I'll take theirs up to the dorm. That way, we might actually be on time for first period."

Remus stood up, the three girls following his lead, and they went to retrieve their timetables from their Head of House, before Remus bid them goodbye. "Wednesday: well, we've all got Transfiguration first today, anyway. Pray we'll get there on time, won't you? See ya." He flashed a quick grin before heading off up the staircase.

Lily, Marlene and Mary were the first to arrive in Professor McGonagall's room, and therefore had the freedom of choosing almost whichever seat they fancied. Mary and Lily decided that the desk on the second row from the back, furthest away from the door, would be best, and sat down, Marlene taking a seat at the desk next to theirs. If given the choice, they would've sat themselves on the back row, but there was no point even attempting it; those desks belonged to the Marauders and everyone knew it. A string of other students started to file into the classroom not long after the girls had took their seats, Professor McGonagall striding in behind them.

"Don't bother sitting down, I've got a seating plan."

Groans rippled through the room as Lily, Marlene and Mary stood up, making their way over to the wall by the door with the rest of the students. Once everyone had quietened down, the first names were read out.

"Lupin and McKinnon."

Marlene stepped forward, heading towards the desk Professor McGonagall had signaled.

"Lupin? Remus Lupin?" McGonagall called, her brow furrowing. "They can't possibly be late." She murmured. "It's the first day-"

The door of the classroom swung open, and in entered four boys, all of them looking rather out of breath and disheveled. Remus, although fighting to gain his breath, looked at if he was about to speak, but it wasn't his voice that sounded.

"I'm so sorry, Professor." the voice said, and Lily was quite shocked to find that it was James Potter speaking. "We had a bit of trouble in our dorm this morning," he darted a stern glance in Sirius' direction before continuing in the same, hurried tone. "meaning we were rather late down to the Great Hall. I know it's no excuse, Professor, but I apologise for us being late."

Professor McGonagall's lips were pursed, and her eyes were hard, but it was common knowledge she had a bit of a soft spot for Potter, and therefore she let the boy's tardiness slide. "Very well, Mr Potter. I trust that this will not happen again, but if it does, have no doubt, I will put all of you in detention. Mr Lupin, take your seat next to Miss McKinnon, please."

Remus thanked her and, sighing with relief, sat down next to Marlene. The rest of the class were partnered up until it was only Lily, Mary, Matthew Harley and James left.

"MacDonald and Harley, can you take that desk there, please."

Lily felt like her stomach was going to drop out of her body. She was going to be sat with James Potter? Of all the people McGonagall could've chosen, nothing could've been worse than this. Professor McGonagall eyed both of them, causing them both to start for remaining desk, which sat almost directly in front of her own. "I would like to speak with the both of you for a moment after class." She said, before turning away and starting her lesson.

Is she joking? Lily thought to herself. She was going to have to put up with Potter, not only at Prefect meetings, Head meetings and the organisation of files - each of which took place at least once every two weeks -, but also in Transfiguration lessons too. She could see Potter sat next to her, taking notes as McGonagall spoke to the class; as it was their first lesson of the year, they were having a lecture class. She wanted to take that stupid quill he was writing with and shove it up his nose, he was scribbling away so fast, but she was Head Girl, and she'd obviously been given the position for a reason, therefore she was just going to push past the fact she was going to have to spend more time with Potter than she wanted, and just get on with her job. She wasn't going to let anything, not even James bloody Potter, ruin this chance for her.

As class ended and all the student packed up their possessions for next period (which, for Lily, was Potions), herself and James stood just before Professor McGonagall's desk, waiting for their teacher to finish with whatever she was writing before attaching it to the owl perched next to her desk, now ready to deal with the students in front of her.

"Well, I'd obviously like to congratulate you both on getting the position of Head Boy and Girl." she said, smiling at them. "It was an honour to have both Heads in Gryffindor this year, and I know you will do the post proud as individuals, but that is not what I want to talk to you about. I know, like the rest of the school, that the two of you don't have the best of relationships, but I sincerely hope that that won't jeopardize your responsibilities. I hope that you will both be able to push past the last six years and have, at least, a civil relationship. I don't want to keep you from your next lessons for too long, but I just wished to remind you that Professor Dumbledore obviously had his reasons for appointing the posts to you two, and I hope you will not make him regret his decision." She eyed Lily and James, then nodded her head. "Right, you are dismissed."

Lily and James exited her classroom, James walking just behind Lily in silence, until they were far enough away from Professor McGonagall's classroom so as not to be overheard, the corridors now empty due to lessons starting almost five minutes prior.

"I think she's right."

Lily spun round to face James, who was stood closer than she expected. She recoiled slightly and replied, trying not to bite or be rude.

"Mhm. I think so too. It'll take a bit of getting used to, though."

"I know, but even if we're not on the best terms, we can be civil, can't we?"

Lily prayed she didn't sound rude when she spoke; it was a bit too early to be arguing with Potter already. "I guess so."

Evidently she didn't, as James smiled at her slightly before clearing his throat and announcing his departure. "Yeah. Well, I'd better get off: Defense is on the other side of the castle." He gave a small wave before turning down the corridor to his right and walking out of sight.

Lily wasn't too late for Potions, but it didn't really matter: Professor Slughorn had always been one of her favourite teachers, as she had always been one of his favourite students. She apologised for her lateness and was greeted with a smile. "Ahhh, it's fine Lily, dear." Professor Slughorn said to her. "Head business, I presume?"

"Yes, sir." Lily replied. "Professor McGonagall wanted a word with Potter and I before our next lesson."

"I thought so. Congratulations, by the way! Always knew you had it in you. Anyway, if you'd like to take your seat, next to Severus, if you don't mind, and I'll start with the lesson."

Next to Severus? He was taking the piss. He _had_ to be. What was_ wrong_ with teachers today? Seating her next to Potter, then with Severus the next again lesson. Didn't they realise how unfair it was? They could've chosen anyone, but no, they had to pick those two prats. She took a deep breath, braced herself, and sat down in the seat next to Severus.

"Have a fun little meeting with Potty and McGonagall, did you?"

Lily's whole body hardened, and she felt like, even if her life depended on it, she wouldn't be able to move an inch. Severus' voice seemed to have that effect on her. Whether he was apologising or mocking her - both of which he seemed to do on a regular basis-, it didn't matter: almost every time she heard his voice, she froze.

That was the main problem with Lily and Severus' relationship: he was either positively malicious, making comments about anything she did, as if he still had the right, or he was so desperate to get Lily back that he frustrated her to Mars and back. There was no in between. For Lily it was exactly the same: no matter how much she claimed to hate him, and genuinely despised his person, he could always get her to do what he wanted.

He turned slightly towards her, as if to speak again, but Lily cut in before he could say another word.

"I don't want to hear it, okay? I don't care what you have to say. Not about me, not about Potter, not about anything. I don't have any choice but to put up with your company, if that's what you would call it, in this lesson, but that doesn't give you any right to speak to me. Leave me alone, Severus. I mean it."

She looked up at his face and saw a wiry, sick smile playing on his lips. She scowled, anger brewing in her stomach. She knew Severus had got what he wanted for today. He'd made a snide comment and she'd bitten back, just like he knew she would. He knew her far too well for her liking. It unnerved her.

They continued the remainder of the lesson without the need to speak to each other: this lesson also being a lecture instead of a practical. The only communication they endured was right at the end of the lesson. Everyone packed up their belongings and headed for the door, but before Lily could leave the room, Severus interrupted her path.

"Watch yourself this year, Lily."

He gave her a sort of pitied look, the same look he'd given her the previous night before the Welcoming Dinner, and he was deliberately not catching her eye. He then quickly left the room, leaving Lily stood alone in the deserted classroom wondering what on earth Severus was talking about. She stood by herself for about a minute, then realised it was lunch and that she should've been down in the Great Hall by now.

The rest of the day passed rather quickly, and also rather blandly too, double History of Magic being Lily's final lesson, and it felt like no time at all before she was tucked up on one of the chairs in the Gryffindor common room, her belly content from her rather large double portion of meat and potato pie. She'd just settled down with Marlene and Mary, a book in hand, when the portrait hole burst open and Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew came stumbling in, clutching their stomachs. They made their way towards one of the sofas, Peter collapsing in laughter as soon as they reached it. They'd caused so much disturbance that the majority of the people occupying the common room were now staring at them, but they didn't notice; they were used to the attention.

"Well, it looks like Peter's forgiven Sirius after this morning, anyway." Mary said as she looked over to Lily.

She sighed, set her book down on the arm of the chair, then made her way over to the two boys.

"I'd like to remind you that this is a common room, not the quidditch pitch, so is there any reason you feel the need to come in here acting like a pair of prats?"

Sirius and Peter glanced up at her, both of them rather pink from laughing so much.

"Is there any reason you feel the need to be a boring prig? Bore off, Evans."

Peter laughed as Lily threw Sirius a hard glare. "What have you done?"

"Why so suspicious? Aren't we allowed to be happy?"

"Fuck off, Black, what have you done?"

Sirius looked as if he were about to speak, but the moment he opened his mouth, the portrait flew open again and James Potter walked in. He looked just as ecstatic as Sirius and Peter until he saw Lily's face. He tried to wipe the grin off his own face, but it was no use. He threw himself down next to Peter, and attempted to look stern.

"I cannot believe you two!" he said, eyeing both Sirius and Peter, who was now flushed bright red due to his laughter. James paused for a second, then burst out laughing himself. "Who'd have known Filtch wore budgey smugglers! I'd never have pinned him as that kinda guy, but honestly, him with those underpants on, his trousers gone, has to be the funniest thing I've ever seen! His face was a picture too, he was absolutely raging. I've just left him on the fourth floor shouting all kinds of nonsense to all those fifth years stood there watching." The three boys cracked up, falling over each other laughing. "That vanishing spell was simply genius, Padfoot! I don't-"

"Genius?!" Lily practically screamed. All three boys looked at her, temporarily forgetting she was even stood there. "How is switching Flitch's pants and humiliating him like that genius? It's disgusting and you know it! All of you have detention on Saturday morning. And don't even try to contradict me, Potter," she snarled at James, who now looked almost ready to explode. "You're Head fucking Boy, start acting like it!"

She stalked away, fuming. What sort of cruel boys would do that to someone? It was common knowledge that Flitch was a Squib, so performing magic to embarrass him, knowing full well he wouldn't be able to resolve it, was just plain cruel in Lily's opinion. She threw herself into the chair she'd been sat in five minutes previously and picked up her book without saying a word to Marlene or Mary. She sat there past midnight, not noticing that the common room was slowly emptying around her until she looked up and saw the room deserted, except for her, Mary and Marlene.

They started for the stairs, Mary and Marlene in conversation about what had happened earlier. Lily wasn't really keeping track of the conversation, but something Mary said caught her attention.

"I'm just praying to Merlin they're not as bad on Friday. Everyone knows what those lot are like when they're drunk."

Lily groaned as she opened the door to their dormitory. How could she have forgotten? The 'Thing' the Marauders were planning for Friday night. Remus had only told them this morning but she'd completely forgotten. Spending five minutes with them in the common room earlier, completely sober, had ended up in a brawl, so having to endure their company for a full night whilst intoxicated sounded like complete hell.

And so much for her and Potter trying to get along for once!

Arsehole.

He was such a stupid ponce, Lily concluded as she climbed into bed. In fact, all of the bloody Marauders were, excluding Remus, of course, but she had no choice but to just put up with them. She turned over and tried to get comfortable. Thinking about the Marauders was making her frustrated so she tried to rid them from her mind, but she couldn't get a little nagging thought to leave, a tiny one hidden at the back of her mind, that was telling her Friday just wasn't going to go well.


End file.
